Oh come on, give us a break. This is NOT why SuSE has financial problems. And since when the cost of the materials dictate what the product is to cost. That $50,000 automobile has less than a $1000 in raw materials in it! You seem to forget that SuSE has to pay for the salaries of those developing the product and that has to be a huge task to develop and test each new version. It doesn't happen for free. SuSE is not only maybe the best distribution out there but it is a bargain, no matter how much you pay for it and you are complaining about $50 for the professional version sans the book! You want the books, pay the extra $30 and be thankful you can get the books; RH is actually cutting back on the documentation they put in their "Professional" box and that sells for $180 (list). I will be very happy to part with $80 when the product becomes available on the store shelves near me. Clint At 11:10 PM 10/2/2001 -0500, you wrote:

...

I noticed that the upgrade version of 7.3 is still $49.95, but the description says "SuSE Linux 7.3 Update Edition, is a full version of 7.3 Professional Edition, but without the manuals." Am I reading this right? No manuals. Okay, I thought that the Update Edition came with some manuals, and I still thought it was expensive.

Now lets do the math: Ten cents per CD times 7 cds equals seventy cents. Lets say the DVD costs a whopping five dollars. Okay. Now we have $5.70. Hmm... Okay, lets say the box costs another $5. That's $10.70. Now, that means in an upgrade version material costs likely add up to less than 1/4 of the price (only about a 1/5 actually!). What exactly is SuSE doing with the other $40?